Mexican Bean Salad

In continuing with the Mexican theme, I bring you Mexican Bean Salad. Three beans- black, canellini, and kidney- are tossed with piquant peppers and onion, roasted corn, garlic, cilantro, and a zingy vinaigrette. I manipulated the original recipe slightly by using less vinaigrette (it was still more than enough) and way less sugar. I'm not sure you even need the sugar at all. Like many marinated dishes, this salad gets tastier the longer it sits. It makes a HUGE bowlful, but don't worry, every day it rests in the fridge it gets that much better! My approach was to pull up a bowl and dive in with a bag of baked tortillas chips.

INGREDIENTS
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can canellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
8 oz. frozen corn, defrosted (I used Trader Joe's roasted corn)
1 red onion, diced
1 serrano chili, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp. organic cane sugar
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 tsp. salt (adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (adjust to taste)
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder

DIRECTIONS
1. Toss to combine beans, peppers, corn, onions, chili, garlic, and cilantro in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk to combine olive oil, vinegar, sugar, lemon juice, lime juice, salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder. Pour over the bean salad. Toss to coat. Adjust seasonings to taste. Refrigerate several hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

Serves 8.

(Adapted from All Recipes)